Ahrotahn
by The Rush
Summary: I have found him. After all these years of searching, I have finally found him. It was he who aided the D'ni in starting anew. For that he must die. All the D'ni must die, but none more than he. He and all his family.
1. Prologue

Voíla! J'ai retourné, tout le monde! C'est Adarthang Lomëdur, et j'ai un nouvel histoire pour vous.

For those of you who don't speak French: Voíla! I have returned, everyone! This is Adarthang Lomëdur, and I have a new story for you!

Now be warned: this story may include some spoilers for you who are still playing Myst, Riven, and Exile. I'm not sure if they will, but just warning you they might.

Let's get on with Adarthang Lomëdur's newest story!

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ID'ni...the very word boils my blood and makes my flesh tingle with hatred. For the past thirty years it has done so. But never has it been as strong as it is now. It brings me solace to know that their great city now lies in ruin, the heir to the so-called evil that Sirrus and Achenar wrought upon it.

Sirrus and Achenar...two great men with a righteous cause.

Every last D'ni, from the highest king to the lowest child, must have justice done upon them for their malice, they must die for what they have done! They spurned me and cut me off when I was barely twenty years old! They merely tired of me and sent me away. It gives me great pain to know I am one myself.

I can only hope I can utterly destroy them...for I know it is near to impossible for one man to do so.

But I now can begin it. I have found him. After all these years of searching, I have finally found him. His life, above all, must be ruined. It was he who wrote the linking books on Myst island, he who aided the D'ni in starting anew. It was his very father who decided I deserved to live no longer.

For that he must die. All the D'ni must die, but none more so than he. He and all his family.

Soon it will happen, and my very life will be avenged.I

BAHROTAHN B

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Well, a pretty short prologue, but good enough! :) I'll keep writing soon!


	2. Chapter 1: In Tomahna

I told you I'd update this quick!  
  
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I stood in the middle of a stone floor, in a circle of yellowish stones amongst a floor of grey ones. The room I was in was not very large; only about six paces from end to end. It was square in shape. At each corner there stood a green hedge-like plant which stretched to the roof. The roof was made of many panes of stained green and yellow glass.  
  
On both my right side and ahead of me the walls were mostly filled by a doorway with a rounded top. There were two doors in each, made of turquoise glass. There were metal bars entwining through them like vines, and there were two gold door handles on each one.  
  
On my left side and behind me there were no walls; the space was taken up by a glassless window. There was a metal railing at the bottom of the window. Outside, massive plains of orange-tinted land stretched out to mountains of the same colour. Green trees dotted the landscape. This was the Age of Tomahna.  
  
In any circumstances most probably, you would have thought this an extraordinary room to be in. But it was quite familiar to me. I had stood in this very room eighteen years ago. It was that day that my good friend Atrus was robbed of the one smidgen of hope he had left: Releeshahn. It was an Age he had written for the D'ni to rehabilitate themselves in. A man named Saavedro had broken in and stolen it, out of want for vengeance on Atrus for what his sons, Sirrus and Achenar, had done to him. I had rescued Releeshahn from Saavedro and also managed to return misunderstanding Saavedro to his wife and children.  
  
This room I was in was the house of Atrus, his wife Catherine, his daughter Yeesha, and his sixteen year old son, Agaeris. I had never met Agaeris, for he had always been very busy when I returned to Tomahna from my journeys through Atrus' Ages, and whenever he had had spare time, I was away. Agaeris had spent most of his years in Releeshahn, leading the D'ni in rebuilding their civilization.  
  
At the age of two, Atrus had taken Agaeris to Releeshahn and placed him in the care of his most trusted friend. He was not a negligible father, and visited Agaeris very often with Catherine. He merely wanted Agaeris in Releeshahn until he was old enough to look out for himself. At age fourteen, Agaeris was allowed free in and out of Releeshahn, but in the two years I had never met him.  
  
I realized that when I entered I had not shut the door to my right when I came in behind me, so I did so with a loud clunk. I saw someone's silhouette moving behind the door in front of me.  
  
The door there opened. An attractive woman entered the room. She had a long plait of shining black hair which hung to the flat of her back. The locks of hair at the front of the sides of her head was braided and hung to her chest. Her features and skin colour suggested that she was Oriental in blood. Her shirt was tight and dark red with white sleeves. She also wore a long, brown skirt, and gold-brown fabric tightly around her waist.  
  
"Who's there?" she called, When she caught sight of me she smiled and approached me.  
  
"You've come back," she said happily. "It is good to see you. How was Whiterock?"  
  
"Very interesting," I replied, handing over a spare Tomahna Linking book from my pocket. "I had a bit of trouble with the people at first, but then I showed them Atrus' book and their attitude changed dramatically."  
  
"Yes, well, the Shirnao are slightly suspicious of strangers," she said, placing the Linking book on a bench by one of the windows.  
  
"I was writing a journal, but one of them tried to catch a solasting on my backpack, knocked it open, and the book fell into the ocean. I found it, but it wasn't very good any more."  
  
I extracted a smaller book from my pocket, the cover warped from wetness and opened it. The pages were all wrinkled and the green ink had blended into them or smudged beyond reading ability.  
  
"I see," said Catherine, laughing. "I remember when Atrus visited Channelwood once: one of the indigenous people found his Myst book and dropped it into the water. I've never seen him so hysterical (I was with him): he dove into the water frantically trying to find it, before he gave up and climbed back onto the boardwalk. It was only then that I showed him I had a Myst book as well."  
  
"I've never seen Atrus like that," I said with a grin. "Where is Atrus, by the way?"  
  
"Oh, he's away in Releeshahn," said Catherine. "He decided to check on how Agaeris has been doing lately. He'll be back soon, if all has gone well. Oh, Agaeris is coming back as well. Atrus has told him all about you and he's dying to meet you."  
  
"Shouldn't one of them stay to keep an eye on things?" I asked. "Atrus has had surprisingly bad luck with security in his life."  
  
"No, not if Atrus believes Agaeris has brought the D'ni to a stable level," replied Catherine. "Surely you wish to see him again?"  
  
"Of course I do," I said. "The last I saw him was when I went to Whiterock."  
  
"Atrus didn't expect you to be gone two whole months," said Catherine. "He was worried the Shirnao had done something with you. He was almost at the point of going there himself to find you."  
  
"I just got very engrossed with the Age," I said.  
  
"Well, feel free to have a look around Atrus' study," Catherine said. "I was cleaning it up for his return but I do now feel there's no point: as soon as he gets back he and Agaeris will have it a complete mess again."  
  
"Thank you," I said. "I'd like to have a look at what he's been up to recently."  
  
"The usual, really," said Catherine. "I'm sure he won't mind if you read his journals."  
  
"Thank you, Catherine," I said, and smiled at her. I walked past her, across the cobblestone floor, and opened the door she had come through.  
  
When I walked through the doorway and shut the door, I found myself in Atrus' study. This room was larger than the one I had just come out of. It would have been rectangular but for the fact that the ends were round.  
  
At the right end of the room, the place I had just come in at, there was a wooden desk cluttered with objects such as picture frames, paper, ink bottles, pens, and books. There was one picture frame which showed a small portrait of Catherine cradling their daughter Yeesha, when she was only a baby. There was another frame that opened outward to show two photos. On the left side there was a picture of a man with a thin face, very short hair, and a thin black moustache and goatee. The one on the right had a broader face and longer hair, and a thick moustache and beard. I had seen these people before. The thin man was Sirrus, and the burly one Achenar. They were both smiling innocently like two ordinary brothers, but they both became greedy and cruel villains. There was also a third picture frame which contained a portrait of a man with an average sized face, a very thin blonde beard, and medium-length blonde hair. This was Agaeris.  
  
At the left end of the room there was a large glass sphere held in place by a gold stand shaped to the likeness of some creeping plant. Inside this sphere there was a single burgundy red book. It was locked heavily with a very strange lock: there were two metal strips which stretched from near the open side of the book, around the spine, and then one vertical strip which wrapped around the book's other sides, joining the others. In the middle of the open side there was a thick strip of metal which wrapped around to the other side. This part had a keyhole in it. In the middle of the book there was one word emblazoned in gold: Releeshahn. It was Atrus' pride and joy, and the last hope for the D'ni.  
  
Behind the desk, I noticed, in the wall, there was a gold stand holding a black book with pale green corners and spine. On the cover gold ink spelled the word 'Fahsehv'. Presumably this was Atrus' newest Age. I did wish to explore it, but knew to wait for Atrus' approval first.  
  
'Well, just a look can't do any harm,' I thought then. 'I won't go to it, I'll just open it up and have a look at the picture.  
  
I reached for the bottom corner of the thick black book and was about to lift the cover, when a hand thumped down on my left shoulder.  
  
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Uh-oh, who's that? If you're reviewing, guesses are welcome. Please review, I really appreciate feedback. I'll keep writing soon. 


	3. Chapter 2: An Intruder

Thanks go out to Gehn the Grey, my first reviewer!  
  
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I span around quickly to see who it was. It was not Atrus, nor was it Catherine. It was a woman. She was about nineteen years old. She wore a brown shirt with sewn leaves all over it, with translucent white sleeves. She also wore a dark grey skirt to her knees, and a fine gold chain around her neck with a seashell hanging on it. She had tied back blonde hair and amber eyes.  
  
"Hullo, Yeesha," I said. "You gave me a bit of a fright there."  
  
"Sorry about that," she said and smiled. "I'm glad I got here in time. I shouldn't go to that Age, if I were you. Agaeris wrote it, and it's his first Age. Father wishes to go to it before anyone else to make sure it's stable."  
  
"I wasn't going to go to it," I assured her. "I was only going to peek at the picture."  
  
"Even so, father feels no one should touch it until he has inspected it," Yeesha said.  
  
"Very well," I said. "What have you been up to lately?"  
  
"I've been staying in Tomahna," she answered. "I don't particularly feel safe traveling father's Ages alone. He hasn't been able to go with me very often, as he's got a lot of work to do in Releeshahn. And mother will only occasionally leave the house unattended."  
  
"I just came back from Whiterock," I said. "Your father's Ages are very stable, I assure you."  
  
"Even so, I don't feel secure enough," she said. "I thought Sirrus and Achenar destroyed Whiterock?"  
  
"Your father thought they had," I explained, "but he linked back to Myst and found it undamaged amongst the other burned books."  
  
"That explains it then," said Yeesha. "Anyway, I can't stop for long, I have to go help my mother with some housework. Agaeris just arrived, a moment ago. I'll tell him you're in here."  
  
"Thanks, Yeesha," I said. She turned around and walked out, closing the stained glass door behind her.  
  
I turned away from the Fahsehv book and to a small metal table by the wall. There was a single large but thin Linking book resting on it. The book was dark red and the corners were gold. In the middle there was a rectangular patch of lighter red. In this there was the D'ni number Five in gold, and a circle of gold around it. I shuddered, as I knew what this was. This was a Linking book to the Fifth Age. I had been to it before, on a mission to rescue Catherine from Atrus' evil father, Gehn. The Age was not exactly a pleasant one: my memory of it was that it had a very eerie and frightening aura surrounding it. I knew I was safe to open this book, however...  
  
Yes. When I did, the panel that normally would have shown the Age I was about to link to was black, with explosions of electricity dancing around in it. Riven was no longer an Age, for it had fallen apart just after I had freed Catherine. It did not exist any more. I did wonder why Atrus had kept the book. I didn't like to think about the result of Linking through it.  
  
I turned back to Atrus' desk. In the middle of it sat a stack of three thin books with mottled green covers. The one on the top was locked with a Nara padlock, the likes of which bound the Releeshahn book. The key to this book lay in the middle of it, so overcome with curiosity, I inserted it into the lock and turned it. The strips of metal across the open end of the book snapped open. I picked the book up. It was rather heavy for its size, even without the padlock. I opened the cover and saw a rotating picture of a small, dank, circular room with round archways around the walls. I knew what this book was. It was not a Linking book, as it gave the impression of. It was a one-man prison book disguised as a Linking book. And I had seen this book before. It was the book that nearly twenty years ago I had trapped Atrus' father, Gehn, inside. If I touched the panel, I would take his place in the book, and he would assuredly kill Atrus and his family, and destroy the book he had been trapped in.  
  
I could not imagine what Gehn was thinking as he stared up at me from the book. He must have hated the sight more than anything else. Fortunately I could not see him in it. I hastily closed the cover of the book and secured the padlock.  
  
I opened one of the other two prison books, which were not locked, and looked inside. An image of Atrus' sunroom which I had just come from span around and around in the glowing panel. There again, it may have just been a Linking book to Tomahna...but I did not mean to test the idea. I shut the book.  
  
Just then, the doors opened behind me. I turned around and saw someone walking in. He had blonde hair, and was about average height for a sixteen- year-old. He had grey-blue eyes. He wore the same sort of clothes I always remember Atrus wearing: a white baggy shirt and pants, and a brown vest. He did not have spectacles, like his father, however. It was Agaeris.  
  
"Ah, just in time!" he said when he saw me. He walked closer to me. "I have been so looking forward to meeting you. From what my father has told me, you have helped him out of a few sticky situations. I thank you. It seems that without you I would not be here.  
  
"I apologize for being so forward," he said with a laugh. "My name is Agaeris. I am my father's third son. From what he has said, I presume you have heard of his first two?"  
  
"Yes," I said, nodding. "Sirrus and Achenar. I had the displeasure of meeting them on Myst, many years ago."  
  
"You were very close to freeing one of them, I take it," he said. "Thank God you didn't. The result would be...catastrophic. Which one did you trust more?"  
  
"I must admit it was Sirrus," I said. "Something about all the torture instruments in Achenar's room put me off him somewhat."  
  
"Well, all in the past," Agaeris said. "Well, I'm very pleased to meet you."  
  
"And I to meet you," I replied. "I notice you take after your father," I added, motioning my head toward the Fahsehv book.  
  
"Oh yes," said Agaeris. "I very much enjoy writing Ages. That's the first I've written. After father inspects it to make sure that it is safe, we can explore it together."  
  
"I would very much enjoy that," I said. "I've just come back from Whiterock."  
  
"Yes, father told me you were away in that Age," said Agaeris. "Well, I suppose we'll just wait here for a while, until father returns."  
  
I walked over and sat on the shelf by the Riven book. Agaeris took the seat by Atrus' desk.  
  
"So," he said, "what do you do?"  
  
"Well, Atrus always likes it when I give him feedback on his Ages," I answered. "He sends me to his new ones after he makes sure they're stable, and to his old ones I haven't been to yet."  
  
"Sounds like not a bad life," said Agaeris. "And you have a sort of prerogative of going after people who are trying to hurt my father, I hear."  
  
"Sirrus, Achenar, Gehn, and Saavedro," I said, counting on my fingers. "Though I did let Saavedro free in the end. He did not deserve death. Sirrus and Achenar tore him and his family away from each other, and destroyed his home."  
  
"He nearly did away with Releeshahn," said Agaeris.  
  
"He only wanted revenge for the wrongs that were done," I told him. "He thought Atrus had put them up to it."  
  
"Well, it can't be helped," said Agaeris. "I've always hated it when people linger in the past. All that's done is done, and it can't be – "  
  
He was cut off suddenly by the sound of someone Linking in. He jumped up out of his seat and stood next to the desk. A man appeared out of thin air by the Releeshahn sphere. He was wearing a black jacket and pants with metal studs on them. He had a bright red sash which wrapped around his neck then went round his chest and back and rejoined his neck again. He also had a black hood which hid his ears and hair, and a pair of goggles. It was actually impossible to tell whether 'he' was a 'he'. His black pants went to his knees, under which there were white pants which stretched to his feet. He had brown shoes on. In his right hand he carried a gold-coloured blowgun.  
  
"Who are – "Agaeris started, but the intruder had already raised the blowgun to his lips and fired it. Agaeris was shot to the ground with a yell. I leapt up off the shelf and tried to intervene with the attacker, but he hit me over the head with the blowgun and I too fell down. He ran past me.  
  
Catherine burst through the glass doors to find out what Agaeris had yelled for. She found the man standing over Agaeris' limp form, moving for the Fahsehv book. She took him by surprise and grabbed his gun, trying to tear it from him.  
  
"Yeesha!" she screamed out the door. "Yeesha! Take the key to Releeshahn and find your father! Quickly!"  
  
The intruder swiftly whipped a tiny knife from his belt and stabbed it into Catherine's right thigh. She screamed and fell down, the knife lodged in her leg.  
  
I sat up slowly, clutching my throbbing head. I saw the man take the Fahsehv book from the stand and open it. He tore off his hood and goggles. A neck-length mass of thin, unruly grey hair fell out. His eyes were cold and grey. His mouth spread into a wide, evil grin, revealing a set of hideous teeth. He uttered a chilling, spineless laugh and raised his hand. In it was a small glass phial, containing some clear liquid. It was clearly the antidote.  
  
He dropped the phial onto the ground where it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. He laughed again, and triumphantly put his hand on the Fahsehv book's moving panel. He was gone in a second.  
  
I rushed over to Catherine's side. I looked closely at her leg. The dagger that was stuck in it had a short triangular blade and no real handle – just a circlet with the D'ni number five in the middle. It was a dagger of the Moiety, the people of Riven. When I thought about it, I realized that the man had been wearing a Moiety uniform and blowgun also.  
  
"Don't take it out!" cried Catherine as I reached for the knife.  
  
Yeesha came sprinting into the room. "Mother!" she cried. "What happened?"  
  
"Leave me, just go to Releeshahn!" said Catherine urgently. "Find your father!"  
  
She took a key from her pocket and handed it to her daughter. Yeesha ran over to the sphere, opened it, and unlocked the book. She opened the cover and pressed her hand to the panel, and linked to Releeshahn.  
  
I then turned to Agaeris. He was still alive, but unconscious. He was very cold. The dart had hit him in the side of the neck, but had missed the vital blood vessels. The dart was small and ovular, with a short, thin point on the end. It was fitted with tiny white feathers. I pinched it between my thumb and forefinger, and pulled it out. I quickly tore a piece of my sleeve off and wrapped it around his neck to stem the bleeding.  
  
A moment later, two people linked into the room. It was Atrus and Yeesha leading him.  
  
"Agaeris!" Atrus yelled and knelt down beside him. "What happened?" he asked me. I gave him the dart. "What kind of dart is this?"  
  
"It is a Moiety dart," gasped Catherine, clutching her leg.  
  
"The Moiety?" said Atrus, confused. "But the Moiety lived on Riven, and that no longer exists!"  
  
"I am as puzzled as you, but there is no time for that now!" said Catherine. "He linked to Fahsehv! He knows where to get the antidote for the poison in the dart."  
  
"Agaeris' Age! This gets worse!" exclaimed Atrus. "We cannot follow because we do not know if the Age is stable!"  
  
I stood up and hopped over Catherine's outstretched leg to reach the book. It lay open on the ground, spine-up. I picked it up and moved my hand toward the panel.  
  
"My friend!" said Atrus. "Do not do it! The Age could be unstable! It – "  
  
But I had already made my mind up. I touched the glowing panel, and felt my body fading away. There was a most peculiar spinning sensation in my stomach as I was sucked in. But before I went, I reached out my hands and grabbed two flat, rectangular objects, and then I was gone.  
  
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Oh no! What will happen to Agaeris? Dun-dun-DUN! I'll update soon. Thanks again to Gehn the Grey for reviewing. 


	4. Chapter 3: Fahsehv

Gehn the Grey has reviewed again, and for that I thank him.  
  
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Suddenly the turning inside me stopped and I felt my feet on solid ground again. My vision came back to me seconds later.  
  
I looked around the area. I was standing beside a triangular rock just taller than me. It curved outwards on two of the sides, but inwards on the side I stood on. The rock rested on a small, flat outcropping of rock projecting from a giant, sheer-cliffed island in the middle of an ocean, like most Ages. Out to sea a fair ways was another island, with cliffs equally as sheer as this one's. I could see great forests on the far island, but could not make out the trees' shapes. The water was sapphire blue. It was certainly a stable Age. Atrus needed not inspect it.  
  
Atrus! I just remembered: I had linked in such a hurry I had not taken with me a means of returning! I had no linking book back to Tomahna. And Atrus still would not risk coming to this Age – he did not know if it was safe. I was trapped there.  
  
My entire purpose had been in vain. I had come to find the antidote for Agaeris, but even if I did find it I could not return it to him.  
  
But wait...it might not have been. I remembered having taken two books when I linked. Did they come with me? Yes. I had been so taken with the new Age that I had forgotten I still had them in my hands. I examined the two books. One had a mottled green cover and when I opened it, a rotating picture of Atrus' sunroom was seen in the panel.  
  
I groaned. This was a Prison book, disguised as a Tomahna Linking book. And the other book?  
  
I rolled my eyes and sighed. This one was even worse! It was the Age Five book – the one that would lead me to the non-existent Age of Riven.  
  
"A right blinding choice of supplies I've got," I muttered.  
  
As long as I was here, I decided, I might as well try and find the intruder. So I packed the books into two pockets, and moved away from the rock. I turned over to the vertical cliff a yard behind it, and walked over to it. I did not see how I was to get up to the top. At the edge of the cliff there was a strange looking plant with five long, green leaves stretching out of the short, orange stem. Yellowish vines poked out of the ground near it and lay curled up in coils. There was a small green bulb at the end of the erect stem. It was segmented rather like a very small papaya. It looked as though it could open up.  
  
I tried throwing a few round stones at it, but they did nothing. Well this was brilliant. I was stuck on this miserable little ledge with no way off.  
  
I paced around the cliff's edge a little while, and then stopped and leaned my back on it. At least I could enjoy the scenery until I died.  
  
Just then I heard a small crack from behind me, and then a large crumbling sound. I leaped up from the wall and turned around. A split had formed in the rock wall, and now an arch-shaped segment was crumbling down to the ground. It opened up into a large tunnel, big enough to walk down in single file. It was ten feet long, and then went into a small cavern. The rocks were a very blue grey colour, different than those outside (which were light orange in hue).  
  
I walked into the cave. The ceiling was very high. A web of hard, rope-like roots came out of the middle of the wall the tunnel came from. They formed the shape of a turning tunnel, that burrowed into the floor.  
  
In the shade on my right was a plant just like the one at the top of the outside cliff. The vines lay coiled beside it. The leaves on it drooped to the ground. I reached out to this one and pressed gently on the bulb at the top of the stem. It twisted ever so slightly and then split apart, the 'cloves' moving slowly outwards from each other and then stopped. Nothing further happened.  
  
I looked to my left, where there was another of the plants, bathed in a beam of sunlight from a hole in the ceiling. The leaves on this one hung in the air like a healthy plant. Hang on...perhaps the sunlight was the difference. The other one I looked at was in darkness and looked unhealthy, but this one was in sunlight and looked fine.  
  
I pressed the bulb on the top of this one, as well. It did the same thing as the other. However, when it was done, the vines that were curled on the ground twitched and extended themselves out, lying limply on the ground. The sunlight had poured into the open stem and caused the vines to roll out.  
  
So I had to make sunlight go through the stem of the one up above. The problem was, I could not reach it. I left the cavern and looked up at the plant. No, there was no way I could reach it.  
  
I returned to the cavern and examined the 'tunnel' of roots that led into the wall. It was hollow, and wide enough for a person to climb into. However, the roots did not make a wide enough gap for me to do so. I touched a segment of rather withered ones and they collapsed under my hand. There was an entrance into the roots large enough for me to clamber through. I grasped some of the other roots and tugged on them. They were as firm as though made of birch wood. I awkwardly climbed into the 'tunnel' and began to climb up. It was not difficult even at the start when it slanted very steeply, because it was like climbing a ladder. When the slope became more gentle, almost horizontal, it was as simple as counting. The only problem was that the roots did dig into my shins.  
  
Eventually I climbed right up to the wall. Surprisingly, the roots did not just burrow in. They still formed a tunnel that I could climb through, but it was a little more cramped than before. It eventually became vertical, and I had to climb up the sides. This was difficult.  
  
After a moment, I bumped my head on the roof. That was as far as the tunnel was going. I looked up. There was still a hole in the roof, but only big enough for my hand to fit through. I could see a very faint cross of light above the hole, with a very small amount of green shining through. I reached and touched it. It twisted very slightly and then slowly opened up. Golden sunlight flooded through. It was the plant I could not reach. Now I knew what had happened: the vines would have extended and fallen down the cliff. That meant I could get to the top.  
  
I climbed down the root tunnel backwards with great difficulty. I finally reached the bottom, and squeezed out of the entrance to the root tunnel. It felt so good to be able to move my arms. I walked out the mouth of the cave and into sunlight again. I turned around to see that my suspicions were correct: three of the vines had climbed down the vertical cliff side and reached the bottom.  
  
I grabbed one of the vines and gave it a good tug. It was very strong. I grasped it in both hands and put my feet on the rock wall. I slowly and carefully climbed up the top, put my hands on the edge and hoisted myself onto the plateau.  
  
This island was very much the same as the other out to sea, except for the fact that it was far bigger. There were many groves and forests around it. Near the west edge there was a large crater. Between where I stood and the forests on the other side, there was a small, blue lake. The sides nearly touched the cliffs.  
  
Beside me, I noted, there were footsteps leading away to the west, where I could just see the crater. I decided to follow the tracks.  
  
I walked west through some natural rock trails which went upwards, downwards, sideways, and finally reached the crater. I could not have avoided the trails, as there was a forest of thin tree which stood tall, shading the area with long, oval-shaped leaves. The forest filled the area around the trails, and went all the way round. It seemed that they formed a sort of wall to contain a certain area.  
  
I finally reached the crater, the jagged lips of which were half my height. I looked down into it. It was dark and foreboding. I did not see myself jumping into it. The footsteps, however, led to it, so there must be a way in.  
  
Just then, something behind me made a rustling noise. I turned around quickly. A small animal poked its head out of an opening in the tightly packed trees. It was some sort of weasel, with white fur streaked with pale purple. It cocked its head to the side, and its ears (which were like a rabbit's) flicked about. It turned its attention to me.  
  
I took a cautious step towards it. It slithered back a little, then returned. This time, its forelegs came out of the trees too. They only had two toes each, with short black claws. I took another step closer. The creature stood up on its hind legs and put its front feet on its chest, like a groundhog.  
  
I took another few steps, and the creature maintained its inquisitive position, cocking its head side to side. When I was right up next to it, I reached out my hand and touched its nose.  
  
The creature made a sudden, loud squeak and leaped out of the trees. It went tearing off to the trail between the trees and bashed into one of the trees on the side. It recuperated quickly, and stood in the middle of the path. The trees, oddly, began to move. They bent sideways as though to grab the creature. But they were too slow and the creature escaped. However, they continued to move down. When they stopped, they were completely blocking the path. I walked up to it, and tried to push one out of the way. No, it was staying put. I couldn't climb over, either. The trees were covered in small thorns.  
  
I returned to the crater. I examined the inside edges carefully, running my hands across them. I could find no trace of a foot- or hand-hold. I did not understand how the man who had taken this route had gotten into the crater.  
  
Suddenly, there was the sound of dirt crumbling. I looked up, mortified. I knew what was happening. The spot of the crater's lip that I was on had broken. I sat there for a moment, before it crumbled off and fell down into the crater, taking me with it.  
  
I fell down a rather short tunnel, and landed on soft dirt. It was not painless, but it was better than what I had expected. I got up, and brushed the dirt off my clothes.  
  
I was standing in a cave. I could see around it, but only just. It was quite small and dingy. There was a tunnel leading off out the far edge, but it was too dark for me to go through.  
  
I walked across the cave, my feet pressing the soft ground in. But then, as I was approaching the far wall, I stepped on something else. It was hard, and did not compress under my shoe. I removed my foot from the object and picked it up.  
  
It was a book. A Linking book. The title on the orange-brown cover read: Glolehnah.  
  
Well, it was better than rotting here forever. So, I opened the cover, and pressed my hand to the panel that I could not see.  
  
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Where will I end up when I link to...Glolehnah? What will the Age be like? Stay tuned! 


End file.
